Foreverland
by DramaLexy
Summary: Third (and final) story in my set (Destiny & Chance came first). Follows the new Adama family and explains what happened to William Adama by the epilogue of the last story. COMPLETE
1. One

TITLE: Foreverland

AUTHOR: DramaLexy

DISCLAIMER: We all know who's mine and who's not. Let's leave it at that.

SUMMARY: Third (and final) story in my set (Destiny & Chance came first). Follows the new Adama family and explains what happened to William Adama. Set a year before Chance's epilogue (yeah, I seem to like going backwards to go forwards).

DISTRIBUTION: If you want it, be my guest, just let me know where.

AUTHOR'S NOTES: First off, if you haven't read Destiny and Chance, you'll probably be kinda confused with this.

Second, I got a lot of reviews saying they wanted to know more about Zak and Carrie, and some others that just wanted to know what happened to Adama. This is two birds with one stone – er, story. This is set about a year before the end of Chance.

Third, one other thing I got a lot of questions about was what happened to Hope by the end of Chance. I had a one liner in there alluding to it, but I guess that got overlooked. I purposely left her out of the end of Chance because I already had the plans for this story in the works, and it explains a lot of stuff.

I did my best to try and keep people in-character (I actually rewrote this whole thing because I didn't like how the original was turning out), but before anyone flames me about that topic please remember that 25 years have gone by since present time on BSG – who knows what in-character is at that point? Anyway, I hope you enjoy.

* * *

0430 hours was a time that most people on the Battlestar Galactica tried not to be conscious to see. For the most part, only those unfortunate enough to get stuck with late shift were awake at that time in the morning. But not everyone. Sixteen-year-old Caroline Adama was always awake that early, and hadn't ever needed an alarm clock to do it – which kept her bunkmates happy. She'd only been living in the Deck Crew Four barracks for a couple months, and almost everyone else worked early or mid shift, so they would not have appreciated an early wake up. Carrie was always very careful not to make a sound as she put on standard issue PT clothes and slipped out the door. 

Usually her older brother, Zak, would be waiting for her in the hall. "It's about time," he would tell her, and they'd pester each other amicably while they stretched out. They'd had their morning tradition of laps around the ship for years; Zak had picked it up from their mother, and Carrie always had to do everything her big brother did. Some days they would just jog for fun, some days they would race each other around a deck, but they always enjoyed their mornings together.

"What shift are you on today?" Zak asked as they made their way around the ship.

"Early. I've got a Raptor engine replacement with my name on it. I've got flight training during mid shift, though, so it's going to be a long day. You?"

"I'm on CAP for early shift. And at least you're almost done with flight training."

"Yeah, thank the Lords."

"Have you seen Grandpa recently?"

"Yesterday, why?"

"Just wondering. I was going to stop by after my patrol was over."

"Sure. And then someone's going to want to get lunch, and someone else is gonna want to hit the training room, and before you know it, it'll be dinnertime and you still won't have gone."

"I'm not that bad about visiting," Zak tried to protest.

"Of course not," Carrie replied, her tone slightly sarcastic. "So then why don't we go now?" He looked a bit hesitant, glancing around to check a clock, but Carrie was determined. "Come on; last one there's a Centurion!" She took off at a sprint, and Zak followed.

* * *

It was a photo-finish by the time that Carrie and Zak arrived at the hatch to their grandfather's quarters. They both took a minute to start breathing normally again, and then Zak knocked. 

"Feel up to some visitors?" he asked as he stuck his head in the door. Adama smiled from his place on his bed, putting down the book that he'd been reading.

"I'll never turn down a visit from my two favorite people on the ship…just don't tell your parents that they've been replaced in that respect." Carrie went to give her grandfather a hug.

"How are you today?" she asked him. The retired Admiral offered her a small smile.

"I'm still here."

"Do you want one of us to get you breakfast?" Zak asked.

Adama shook his head. "One of the petty officers will do it. I forget whose turn it is today."

"We don't mind, Grandpa," Carrie assured him. She had become as protective as a mother hen in the weeks since his health had begun to decline.

"You should be getting ready for your shifts, not baby-sitting an old man."

"I don't have a maintenance shift tomorrow," Carrie told him. "I can come spend the morning with you. We can play cards or something."

"I can't afford to play cards with you," he told her, his smile widening. "I've got a book for you instead. But don't worry about that now. Do you have training today?"

"Yep."

"Then you be careful out there, Cadet."

"I will, Sir."

"Same goes for you," Adama told Zak. "You're giving your father gray hair."

"That's just as much Carrie's fault as mine," he countered.

"Oh, I have no doubt about that. Now, go on before you're late." They both gave him one last hug before heading back out the hatch.

Adama smiled to himself once he was alone, reaching for a picture that was beside his bed. Kara, Lee, Zak, and Carrie were posed beside a Viper after Kara had completed the first test-flight for the Mark IVa model. His grandchildren had been fourteen and six, respectively, and were grinning happily from their places beside their parents. He couldn't deny that he hadn't been the greatest father when his own sons were growing up, but he'd gotten better at it in the time since the colonies had been destroyed, and he'd tried to make up for Lee's childhood with his children's. His family had become everything to him.

Lost in thought, the knock on the door a half hour later was a surprise. Adama put the photo back down and smiled at the crewman that had brought him something to eat. "Morning, Sir," she said as she set down a tray on the table by his bed.

"Good morning. What's the latest news around the ship today?"

* * *

After shifts were done, any pilots who possessed a few cubits and were able to push away their exhaustion found their way to the officer's mess hall for a game of cards. Carrie had been considered an unofficial officer since she was ten, so no one looked twice when she entered the mess hall. She knew everyone that was seated around the table – pilots Joe 'Midnight' Vega and Alicia 'Jinx' Santos, Bravo Squadron Leader Sarah 'Ice' Loring, plus Zak, and Carrie's surrogate big brother, Evan Tyrol. Jinx was practically sitting in Evan's lap, proving how he'd gotten the call sign Romeo. 

"Pull up a chair," Midnight told Carrie as he noticed her come into the room. "You bring the cubits, we supply the fun." She joined the group with a smile.

"Hopefully you all brought the cubits, too, because I'm not taking IOU's tonight." They all grumbled responses to that. Money still didn't have the value that it had once held on the Colonies, but it was still a nice prize.

"All right, no guts, no glory," Zak said, putting a few chips in the center, and then pulling a stogie from his pocket to light up.

"I'm in," Evan added, putting down some chips of his own.

"Me, too," Carrie said, adding to the pot. Alicia did the same.

"Too rich for my blood," Joe told them, folding. Ice thought about it for a few moments, and then added some chips.

It went around the table again, everyone adding more to the pile. Their eyes all widened when they saw Carrie's bet. "Whoa, I'm definitely out," Evan said. She just grinned.

"The midget's just getting a bit big for her britches," Zak said, matching his sister's bet.

"The midget's going to knock you out if you call her that again," Carrie shot back. "And if you can't handle the heat, get out of the fire."

"Who said I couldn't handle it?" he replied. "Check." Jinx was the only other person left in the game other than the Adama siblings. She laid her cards down on the table.

"Three in a run."

"Four in a run," Zak said. Carrie was grinning like a Cheshire cat.

"Full colors," she told them, displaying her own hand. They both groaned, rolling their eyes as she collected her winnings. "Come on, you guys. Be good sports."

"I plan on winning that back," Jinx told her.

"You can try," she replied. "Who's dealer this go around?" Evan sat up in his seat, taking the deck of cards to shuffle and re-distribute.

"Isn't it past your bedtime yet?" Zak teasingly asked his sister. She reached over and grabbed his cigar from between his fingers. "Hey!"

"Hey yourself," she replied.

"You're going to make yourself sick with that." Carrie gave him a defiant smile and took a long drag. She almost managed to do it without choking, but not quite. Zak laughed, taking his cigar back. "Yeah, you're not in the big leagues yet, kiddo. Don't rush it."

* * *

There was nothing that Carrie hated more than being told to slow down and not grow up so fast. Childhood on a Battlestar was a waste of time. Children couldn't be officers or fly fighters or do any of the really critical maintenance. She'd only just recently learned how to do engine replacements on Raptors. The CPO wasn't letting her do the same for a Viper until she was seventeen. There were no parks to play in without taking a shuttle to Cloud 9, and no toys in the traditional sense of the word. For Carrie, it seemed like an utter waste that those born on Galactica still had to abide by the age regulations when it came to working in the fleet. 

Her parents had gotten sick of the arguments that came every time they said no to her, so they let her start basic flight a couple months early. Any free time she had between that and maintenance was supposed to be spent with her grandfather, learning some history and culture. In all honesty, she was probably supposed to be babysitting Adama just as much as he was supposed to be babysitting her, but that didn't matter. She adored him, and the feeling was mutual.

"So what book did you want to read today?" Carrie asked Adama as she had breakfast with him in his quarters the next morning. He pointed to a novel that was on his desk. "Foreverland?" she asked as she read the title.

"Have you heard of it?" Carrie shook her head, and Adama sighed. "I'm not surprised. Our civilization is being lost little by little."

"What's it about?" she asked as she sat with him on his bed.

"I first read it when I was a little younger than you. I was drawn to it because the main character had the same name as mine. He is a boy from somewhere on Caprica who loses both of his parents when he's on that fine line between child and adult. He runs away, looking for a place called Foreverland in order to avoid growing up."

"That's silly," Carrie told him. "It would never work. Everybody grows up."

Adama smiled, taking the book from her and opening it to the first page. "There's a difference between growing up and getting older."

"Not from where I'm sitting."

"I never thought your mother was going to grow up, no matter how much time passed…but she did, as you and your brother got older."

"If growing up lets me be a pilot now, then that's all I want," Carrie explained.

Adama smiled as he turned back to the book. "Every child," he read, "grows up. All of them, but one…"

* * *

TBC… 

Thoughts so far? Comments, questions, concerns?

Oh, and there's no time like the present for this disclaimer - yes, I was greatly inspired by Peter Pan for this story. I'm trying to redo it for Colonial culture, but I'm probably going to end up borrowing a few lines. Credit to the genius that is JM Barrie.


	2. Two

AN: Just thought I'd put in another little clarification that apparently wasn't as obvious as I thought it was (sorry): this is set about a year before the epilogue to Chance. So Carrie's only 16, Zak and Hope are 24, Evan's 20, and you can make up your own ages for Kara and Lee ;-) However old you think they are now, plus 25. Adama's in his mid-eighties, I guess...Okay, that is all; we now return to your regularly scheduled fanfic.

* * *

Zak Adama already had grown up, at least enough to be able to fly like his sister so desperately wanted. While she spent a morning with stories from the past, he spent it in a Viper cockpit, out on a patrol. "Hey, form up," he called over the wireless as they approached one of the ships with an observation deck. 

The two Vipers came together, flying side-by-side while he Raptor trailed just below and behind. They all took a pass directly by the large windows before the Vipers broke off, turning back for another pass by themselves.

"Nice, guys," the Raptor ECO, Whip, commented.

"We aim to please," Jinx replied from the other Viper.

Zak laughed. "All right, same deal next time we go by Colonial One."

When patrols were quiet, there wasn't much to do except some showy flying for any spectators they might have. They had time to work on breaking the end-over-end flip time for a Mark IVa, or come up with new ideas for three-man formations, such as the maneuver Zak liked to call a Raptor sandwich. The last time they'd tried that, though, the other Viper pilot had been screwing around a bit too much and wound up scraping his tail on the Raptor's underside. The CPO had not been happy with any of them, so they hadn't attempted the trick out again – at least not yet, anyway.

"Anybody in the mood for a sandwich?" he asked after they'd finished their flyby on the president's ship.

"A what?" Jinx asked.

"Forget it," Wraith, the Raptor pilot, instantly said. "I don't need my ass chewed out again."

"You're not gonna get your ass chewed out, because we're going to pull it off this time."

"No."

"What the frak are you talking about?" Jinx inquired.

"If you've gotta ask, you don't want to know," Whip told her. "Looks like Orion woke up on the wrong side of his rack this morning – the stupid side."

Next thing the two in the Raptor knew, Zak had inverted his Viper, and was flying directly above them, close enough that they could see each other through their canopies. "Son of a…" Wraith muttered as he threw on the reverse thrusters, putting some distance between them. "Frak, man, if you're gonna do something like that, give some warning first!"

Zak grinned. "That would take all the fun out of it."

Then again, maybe he hadn't grown up.

* * *

When Carrie had moved into the deckhands' bunks, her parents had made it conditional upon the fact that they all find a way to separate military from family. Lee had grown up as a 'little soldier' with his father, and didn't want the same thing to happen with his children, especially since both of their parents were officers. So they all made sure that schedules were arranged such that they could have a meal together at least once a week. They ate in the Adamas' quarters instead of the mess hall so they could all be totally informal. Zak and Carrie hadn't seen a need for the dinners in the beginning, but they now looked forward to them. 

Lee looked up when he heard a knock on the door to his office, and Zak came inside a moment later. "I didn't think you knew what the word early meant," he ribbed his son. Zak smiled.

"Yeah, well, I got done down in the hangar, and I was wondering if I could use your phone before dinner."

Lee nodded with a smile. "Go ahead. I'm going to head on; don't be late enough that your mother has to come looking for you."

Zak laughed. "Yes, Sir."

Once he was alone in his father's office, he picked up the phone and got the operator to connect him to the Aquarian Traveler–63856. The ship had served as an orphanage in the early years after the Colonial Holocaust, and now doubled as a school ship for all of the fleet's children. Lee and Kara had tried to get both Zak and Carrie to board there for their secondary school years, but they were far too in love with their lives on Galactica to consider it. However, the things they loved about the Battlestar had never been of interest to Zak's best friend, Hope Tyrol. She'd gone to school on the Traveler when she was twelve, and had become an art teacher there after graduation.

It took a few transfers, but he finally got a line through to Hope. Zak usually used the dinners with his parents as a reminder to try to call her. "What's the good word?" she asked once someone finally gave her a phone.

"Nothing much. Dinner night, so I thought I'd try finding you. Your brothers and parents say hello."

"Tell them I said the same and I miss them. I was hoping to get a shuttle over to Galactica last week, but pretty much everyone over here wound up catching a bug."

Zak laughed. "Yeah, keep your germs to yourself."

"Were you out on patrol today?"

"Yep."

"Mmm, I thought so. I glanced out the window and saw some smartass fooling around with a Viper like a child, so I knew it had to be you."

"Hey!"

"Are you denying it?"

"No, but still! That's Lieutenant Smartass to you."

"Oh, yes, Sir!"

"Besides, I'm First Wing – I can get away with it."

"My Lords, how long has it been since I talked to you? When did you make First Wing?"

"A couple weeks ago." There was pause as recognition dawned. Within the squadrons, there was only one way to get promoted, and it wasn't pleasant.

"So that means Sarah…"

"No. She's Bravo Leader now. We lost Curly."

"KIA or an accident?"

"In action. He took a couple Cylons with him."

"Good…How are you guys doing on numbers?"

"We're still all right; been lucky lately other than that day. There should be another training group starting in a few weeks. Why? You want to come back and join up?"

Hope scoffed. "Yeah, sure, Zak. That'll happen."

"You're doing okay over there, though, right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I love it here, other than missing you guys."

"Well, if you don't hop a shuttle home soon, I'll send Evan over in a Raptor to get you."

Hope laughed. "All right, all right. I'll do what I can. Be careful, Orion. The scorpion always comes back," she cautioned, referring to the legend behind his call sign. Zak smiled.

"But that's why I'm up in the sky – he's on my turf up there."

* * *

"Mom was about to send me after you," Carrie told her brother as she saw him enter their family's quarters. 

"Yeah, yeah, I'm here now," he shot back. She just smiled as she helped Lee set out the dishes from the mess hall with their dinner. Kara came out of the bathroom with a pitcher of water.

"Oh, you did manage to find your way down here," she ragged on her son. He raised a hand in salute.

"Reporting for dinner, Sir."

"Shut up, brat," she told him. They all sat down at the little table in the middle of the room. Their quarters were just barely big enough.

"How's basic flight going?" Lee asked Carrie.

"It'd be going a lot better if I could fly something other than shuttles."

"Have patience."

"What's that?" she shot back.

"Don't look at me," Kara said as Lee turned to her. "I don't know what it is either."

"I think I got her share," Zak commented.

"Since when?" Lee asked. The girls laughed.

"You spent the morning with your grandfather, right?" Kara asked Carrie. She nodded. "How's he doing?"

"Fine. We started a new book. He was going to take a nap after I left."

"You tired him out in a couple hours?" Lee inquired.

"He said he didn't sleep well. We're supposed to get through another chapter tomorrow. It's a pretty interesting book."

"Which one?" Zak asked. The siblings were oblivious to the concerned looks that their parents were giving each other.

"It's called 'Foreverland'. Did you ever read it, Dad?"

"Yeah, in grade school. It's a good one. Keep an eye on your grandfather, though, okay? He's been blowing off the Doc recently." Carrie shrugged.

"I wouldn't want to get stuck with a bunch of needles if I was him, either. All they ever do is take blood."

"They gotta drink something," Zak wise-cracked. His sister laughed, and the subject was soon dropped, but wouldn't be forgotten – at least not for long.

* * *

TBC... 


	3. Three

When Zak entered his bunkroom that night, Evan was lying in his bed, playing solitary pyramid. "Your sister says hi," Zak told his friend.

"You talked to her?"

"Yeah. Apparently an outbreak of the sniffles on the Traveler kept her from visiting last week."

"Gotcha. Is she supposed to be rescheduling?"

"Who knows? I told her you'd go over to pick her up if she didn't come soon."

Evan nodded. "I'd do it. Maybe it would get Mom and Dad off my case if they got their good child back."

Zak laughed. "Yeah, my parents knew from the start that they didn't have one of those."

* * *

"Admiral, so good of you to find the time to get down here, what with your busy schedule and all." 

Adama didn't like doctors much to start with, so he definitely wasn't thrilled with one that was making wise-cracks. He shot the man a glare as he carefully made his way over to the examination table that the doctor pointed to. "Let's just get this over with," he said. Spending his morning in the Life Station was not his idea of a good time.

Checking his temperature came first, then blood pressure. "It's still high," Major Hayes told him. "Are you taking the medication I gave you?"

The doctor received a pointed look. "You've got me on so many different ones. If it was included in the last box you gave me, then yes, I'm still taking it."

"Just trying to keep you alive, Sir," the doctor shot back. "I want to do a few blood tests – "

"Of course you do."

"Have the latest round of drugs helped your breathing any?"

"Not noticeably."

The doctor nodded, getting the things together that he needed for drawing a couple vials of blood. "We'll do another chest scan as well, then."

"I'm supposed to meet my granddaughter in a couple hours. If this nonsense is going to take longer than that, then I'll come back later."

Major Hayes looked up from the needle that was in his hands. "With all due respect, Admiral – no, you won't. We've lost enough time in your treatment already." That took a moment to sink in, but Adama finally nodded and rolled up his sleeve.

* * *

When he left the Life Station a few hours later, he was not in the best of moods. This was the other reason he hadn't been going to his appointments as of late – all he ever received was bad news. 

Carrie was inside Adama's quarters when he arrived, seated on his bed and reading through another chapter of 'Foreverland.' He hadn't been sure if she would like the book or not, since she wasn't a large fan of fantasy stories. Within its pages, though, was a refuge where being an adult was no longer so important. One child's creativity had allowed him to go on a quest to a most magical place, where the trees touched the sky and flowers bloomed all year long, the water was always crystal blue, and the Lords gave gifts to those who managed the journey, like the ability to fly. If only real life could be so enchanted…

Carrie looked up when she heard the door open, and smiled at her grandfather. "Couldn't help myself," she told him, indicating the book. "I was afraid I was going to have to leave for training before you got here; was there a long wait at the Life Station?"

"Mmm. How much farther did you get?"

"Another two chapters. I think flying without a Viper would be absolutely perfect. Then you wouldn't need flight training." Adama chuckled. Her smile had managed to chase away a few of the dark clouds that were hanging over him, if only for a little while.

"I think that's undoubtedly the more dangerous way to go," he replied as he sat beside her, resting his cane against the wall. "I can just picture needing to put cattle-catchers on the front of the Vipers so that they can move aside all these hundreds of children that are out floating around." Carrie laughed as well.

"I'm kind of glad you were late," she said. "That let me get finished with a surprise."

Adama raised an eyebrow. "You know how much I like surprises."

"You'll like this one." She walked across the room and flipped a switch that was on the wall behind his desk. Instantly, the sound of voices filled the room. Two of them belonged to the pilots that were currently out on CAP, and the third was the officer up in the CIC that was in contact with them. "Tada! I rewired your overhead connection," she explained. "So now you can hear the wireless chatter when you get bored."

"Who's out there now?"

"Um…Midnight, Ice, and somebody's got the Raptor but I forget who."

"Bunch of cocky little bastards," Adama quietly muttered to himself as he listened to the group banter back and forth. Carrie grinned.

"You should hear them when Zak's out there."

"With that kind of warning, I'm not sure I really want to."

"I figured you've gotta feel kinda cut off in here, since you don't get daily reports and all anymore."

"I have my sources," he said with a smile.

"Well, in any case…Now you're back in the loop, at least when it comes to patrols."

"Galactica, relief group is in the tubes," a voice came across the system.

"Copy, that; you are clear to launch." The repartee now included the four new pilots that were heading out to patrol for the second half of early shift.

"I know this part by heart," Carrie told her grandfather, and spoke along with the LSO word for word, "Patrol squadron, approach port landing bay, hands on, checkers red, call the ball." She continued as one of the pilots answered back, "Copy that, Galactica. Port landing bay…I have the ball."

Adama just smiled. "How old were you when you memorized launch and landing protocol?"

"I don't know. Eleven? They're good things for a pilot to know."

"Yes. And I'm sure you'll be one hell of a pilot…" He said something else, which Carrie didn't quite hear, but it sounded suspiciously like, "I wish I could see it." She frowned.

"Don't worry; Mom and Dad have gotta let me get my wings eventually. I figure if I bug them enough, they'll probably do it a little early. I mean, it worked with training, right?"

"Yes, it did," he quietly replied. The mood in the room had changed, and as Carrie looked to her grandfather, she realized that she didn't quite recognize the man she was sitting across from. Somewhere along the line, when she hadn't been paying attention, he'd gotten old. And that was quite disconcerting.

"You'll watch my first flight, right?" she asked. "Come down to the deck?" She didn't like the hesitation before he spoke again.

"I'll be watching from somewhere…Don't you still need to get lunch before your training this afternoon?"

"Yeah."

"Then, you get going, and I'll see you tomorrow, all right? Same time, same place." Carrie nodded a bit reluctantly, going to give him a hug.

"Yes, Sir."

Out in the hall, she replayed their conversation in her mind. All the little comments her parents had made in the past few weeks started replaying themselves – Carrie didn't like the big picture that she was seeing. In an instant, the concept of time had gone from being endless to being very limited. There had been hints and signs, but she'd ignored them, wrapped in a cocoon of naivety and denial. She really was still a child.

* * *

Instead of going and getting food, Carrie pulled on her flight jumpsuit very quickly and then made her way to her mother's office. "Are you busy?" she quietly asked after she knocked on the door. 

"Don't you have training soon?" Kara asked, glancing at the clock.

"Yeah. I won't be late."

"All right. What's going on? Did your grandfather like your surprise?"

"Yeah. Thanks for the wiring schematics."

"No problem."

"Mom? Is Grandpa all right?" Kara looked up.

"What do you mean?"

"Just…he's okay, right? With the doctors and all? It's not serious?" A very tense silence followed.

"He's had a long life, Carrie," she finally replied.

"But…it might not be much longer?"

There was a long pause before, "No. No, probably not."

She slowly nodded. "I…I should get going."

"Carrie – "

"I'll talk to you later, Mom, okay?" she said, her voice a bit higher than normal. She knew running off wasn't going to fix anything, but if she didn't get out of that office in the next few seconds, there was no telling what she would do. 'Cry' was at the top of the list of possibilities at the moment, and she certainly couldn't allow that to happen. But Kara understood, because she was the exact same way.

"You know where to find me," was all she finally told her daughter. Carrie nodded, and shut the hatch behind her as she left.

* * *

Her mind was elsewhere during her training session, but she tried not to let her instructor notice. Carrie had what the woman would call a natural 'gift' for flying, and that meant that her brain could be removed from the process as long as her instincts were still working. So she let her mind drift back to her conversation with her grandfather that morning. Back to his wish about seeing her fly… 

After she finished training for the day, Carrie walked over to the hangar deck. She was glad to see that the CPO she reported to more-often-than-not for maintenance shifts was there.

"Sir?" she asked him.

"What's up, Carrie?"

"I was wondering if you had any Raptor manuals lying around that I could borrow."

He raised an eyebrow. "You already know how to fix almost everything on one."

"Just because I can fix it doesn't mean I've memorized how it works."

He shrugged. "Check the storage room. There should be some in there."

"Thank you, Sir."

Several of the books that she found were just parts listings with specifications to be given to the foundry ship when they needed replacements. An additional guide laid out all the electronics in numerous diagrams – none of these were of any interest to her. There was one book, though, that detailed how all the controls systems worked, and another covered the sensors platforms. She took those two back with her to her bunk and stayed up half the night studying them.

She had an idea. It would take some work – a lot of work – but it would be worth it in the end. It had to be.

* * *

TBC... 


	4. Four

Every free second that Carrie had became time to study. She located all of the books on Galactica with information on Raptors and practically memorized them, cover to cover. In about a week, she knew what every button, switch, and screen was for, and how to use all the sensors. The only problem was, for as much time as she'd spent in her life on the outside of Raptors doing maintenance, she'd never had spent much time inside one. And that's where having an accomplice came in.

"You busy?" Carrie asked as she walked over to one of the Raptors that were on deck. Evan twisted around to look at her, an eyebrow raised.

"No, Carrie; I'm on my back, under a plane, with the fuel line access door hanging open, but I'm not busy."

She grinned, "Good," and proceeded to sit beside him on the hangar floor. "I need a favor."

"If this is anything like when your brother says he needs a favor, I want no part of it."

"No, come on, Evan. Please?"

"I'm sure as hell not saying yes or no until I know what the favor is." Carrie sighed, looking around to make sure that no one else was within earshot.

"I want you to teach me everything you know about Raptor piloting."

He frowned. "Why?"

Carrie shrugged, trying to be nonchalant. "Never too early to learn, right?"

"Not necessarily, when it comes to you. What are you trying to…" And then it dawned on him. "No."

"What? Why?"

"I'm not gonna help you sneak out with a military plane. It ain't happening."

"You haven't heard the whole plan."

"I don't want to hear it. Forget it, and stick to shuttles. You'll take combat flight in two years."

"But I don't have two years," she protested, and that got his attention.

Evan sat up, putting down his tools. "Why not?"

She sighed. "I want my grandfather to be able to see me fly…And that means I have to learn now."

"What's going on, Carrie?" There was a long pause.

"I don't know how much time is left, but it's not a lot. So I can't wait anymore."

"Why don't you talk to your parents? Maybe they could work something out – "

"And if they said no, then what? I can't ask permission; I've gotta do it this way. So are you in, or are you out? And if you're out, then would you please keep your mouth shut about this?"

Evan thought about it for a minute. "Are you supposed to be on-shift right now?"

"No, I'm off until tomorrow."

"Fine. Meet me in the ready room at 2330, okay?"

Carrie smiled. "I'll be there…Thanks."

"Yeah. Now let me get back to work."

"Yes, Sir," she said and obediently left him alone.

* * *

After his shift, Evan tried to get together all of his old materials from when he did Raptor flight training, and then headed for the ready room. Carrie was already there and waiting. He rolled his eyes when she came to attention upon him entering the room. 

"Don't start," he told her.

"Yes, Sir."

"Do you have any idea what you're getting yourself into? I mean, other than knowing how to repair fuel lines and load drones, how much do you know about flying or Raptors?"

"I'll be done with basic flight in only a couple days."

"Key word being 'basic'."

"It's better than nothing," Carrie fired back. "And I've read everything I could get my hands on."

He wasn't expecting that. "You have the training manuals?"

"Yeah."

"Wow."

"See? My plans aren't quite as crazy as Zak's."

"Yes, they are, you just execute them better."

Carrie smiled. "So what else am I missing from Raptor training?"

"Air time," he replied. "Time in the cockpit to go over all the skills in the manuals."

"Well, that's not exactly an option. The first time I go up, I've gotta have everything down. The first time is probably the only time."

"You've gotta finish basic flight before you try taking out a Raptor. You're going to be in enough trouble already without adding to it the fact that you weren't a licensed pilot yet."

"Fine…but I think I can pull this thing off without anyone knowing."

Evan sighed. "Do I really want to hear this?"

"Raptor 248 went down for a total overhaul yesterday, right?"

"Yeah…"

"So how long does that take?"

"Probably about two weeks. Maybe a little less if the crews are really good."

"So…what if you were to volunteer for the check-out flight after they finish the maintenance. They only need a pilot, right? No ECO."

"Yeah…" And then he realized where she was going with that line of thought. "So there'd be no one else to notice if you snuck along as well."

She grinned. "Exactly. You do the talking, I do the flying – it all makes for a lovely afternoon"

Evan shook his head in disbelief. "You're an evil genius, Carrie."

"Thank you."

"That wasn't a compliment."

"Says who?"

* * *

Zak wanted to prove to his sister that he wasn't totally incapable of visiting their grandfather without her prompting; one afternoon, once he had finished an early shift patrol and grabbed a quick lunch from the mess hall, he then headed for Adama's quarters. 

"I don't suppose you're capable of getting through just one patrol without giving in to the urge to turn your fighter into a play toy?" he asked his grandson when he saw him. Zak was at first confused, but then noticed the sound of the wireless communications coming through the speaker above him.

"No, I really don't think I am," he replied with a grin. "Did Carrie redo your overhead system?"

"Yes, she did. I really am beginning to wonder if there's anything she can't fix."

He shrugged, taking a seat. "I'd rather fly than fix."

"Mmm. You would have been a natural for the aerobatics team if we still had an Academy."

Zak smiled. "It's more fun to sneak it in during a patrol."

"You are your mother's son."

"And damn proud of it."

"Oh, I'm sure. So what else has been going on?"

"Nothing really. Eat, sleep, fly, gamble."

"How have things been working out with your new squadron leader?"

He smirked. "I've known Sarah forever – she's one of my closer friends – but you know things are going to be…interesting when your squad leader is a girl with the call sign 'Ice'." Adama laughed.

"Yeah, I've seen several of those in my lifetime. She'll make better pilots out of all of you."

"I know. She tries to keep me in line, too."

"Is there any chance of her succeeding?"

Zak grinned. "I told her that I'd play by her rules if she ever manages to beat me at cards."

* * *

Finishing basic flight wasn't all that big of a deal on Galactica. Every pilot had to do it, and most tried to get it over with as quickly as possible so they could move on to the 'real fun'. Carrie was no exception; for her, passing meant that her secret plan was falling together nicely. She had a maintenance shift directly after her final check-out flight, and wasn't expecting anyone other than Evan or her grandfather to even remember that it was her last day of training. She was pleasantly surprised to find things to the contrary. 

After a session with Evan (he was trying to pass along some of his experiences to her before her flight) she headed back to her quarters to discover that her bunkmates had decorated her rack. A sign reading 'Congratulations Carrie' was on the wall, and a paper cut-out of Raptor wings was hanging above her bedside shelf.

"Just so you can keep your eyes on your next goal," one of them explained.

Carrie had barely gotten a chance to thank everyone and check out her friends' handiwork when a voice came across the overhead, "Attention: pass the word for Caroline Adama. Cadet Adama, report to the XO's office."

"You mean you didn't go see your parents already?" one of her bunkmates asked her. She jumped down from her bed.

"No, I just got off shift. I didn't think they would care much. I mean, shuttle jockeys are about the bottom of the totem pole for pilots."

"That doesn't matter. You're their youngest kid, and you just passed basic. Get outta here."

* * *

So she obediently made her way up to her mother's office. Lee and Zak were there as well; "It's about frakking time," Zak ribbed his sister. 

"You know, according to your mother, you're apparently not a child anymore," Lee told her.

"It's a practicality thing," Kara explained. "Because frankly, it would worry me if we were referring to those flying eighty-ton shuttles around as children."

Carrie laughed. "Where's Grandpa?" She didn't miss the fact that her parents exchanged a look before either of them answered.

"He said to tell you congratulations and that he'd see you in the morning," Lee finally said.

"Is he okay?"

Kara offered her a smile, but Carrie could see the tension behind it. "When was the last time that your grandfather actually stayed up to the end of mid-shift?"

"Was I born yet?" Zak quipped.

"Brat."

* * *

They all enjoyed a bit of time together, but Zak was on early shift, so he wasn't going to stay up long. As Carrie made her way back towards her bunkroom, she ran into Evan in the hall. 

"I was just coming to find you," he told her.

"What's up?"

"They finished working on Raptor 248 – the flight test is tomorrow."

"Whoa. That's a lot earlier than we thought."

"Yeah, I know…Are you ready for this, Carrie?"

"I don't have much of an option, do I?"

"I'm not putting you in the pilot's seat if you don't think you can do it."

"I'll be fine," she told him. "I'm ready." Evan nodded.

"Then we'll do everything according to plan. I'll see you tomorrow."

"'Night."

* * *

"Galactica to Caroline. Anyone there?" Carrie looked up with a start at the sound of her grandfather's voice. She was seated beside him on his bed in his quarters, and he had the story they'd been reading in his hands. Judging from the fact that the book was closed, she assumed he'd finished it. 

"Sorry," she said with a sheepish grin.

"Where's your mind been all morning?"

"I don't know. I was sort of listening…a little. I liked everything I heard."

Adama smiled, offering her the book. "Here, re-read it yourself later."

"I'll get it tomorrow; I'm going down to the deck now."

"I thought you didn't have a shift today?"

"Oh, um…I'm covering for someone."

"I see. Well, in that case, same time tomorrow?"

Carrie nodded. "Yup…Hey, why don't you get out of your room for a little while this afternoon? Head up to the observation deck, look around for a couple hours…"

Adama smiled. "What's Zak supposed to be doing today?"

"It's not Zak." He gave her a puzzled look.

"What's going on, Carrie?"

"Just go up to the observation deck, okay? There's a Raptor that's going out for a flight test. We'll talk tomorrow."

"Are you giving me an order, Cadet?" She laughed, saluting him.

"Yes, Sir."

* * *

TBC... 

feedback is always welcome.


	5. Five

Carrie could barely contain her excitement by the time she got down to the deck. She saw Evan doing some last minute checks on the Raptor. There were a few crewmen around, but none were really paying any attention to them. "How's she looking?"

"Not too bad," Evan replied. "I think we're almost set. What are you doing down here?" Carrie smiled. They had a little charade all planned out.

"Just seeing if you wanted to get dinner later."

"Sure. What are you up to now?"

"Not sure. I might go read, or hit the training room, or go for a run." If anyone had overheard that, it guaranteed there was a whole list of places that had to be searched in case anyone was trying to find her later.

"All right, we'll meet in the mess after shift. Oh, can you do me a favor?"

"Sure."

"Check the rear sensor platform, just to make sure everything's on." And that got her inside the Raptor. Considering how busy the hangar deck was, it was unlikely that anyone would notice she hadn't actually left. As long as she stayed hidden during the pre-flight, their plan might actually get pulled off.

Carrie climbed up into the Raptor, and made her way to the back. She made herself as small and as invisible as possible in a back corner and got set for the wait until the test began.

* * *

"Raptor 265, you are cleared for take-off." 

"Copy that, Galactica," Evan replied. "All systems look good; we're leaving the deck...Hang on back there," he told Carrie after switching the communications loop so that it only included those within the Raptor. She smiled from her spot at the rear sensor console; the co-pilot's seat would have been preferable, but the cockpit was still visible to the LSO. The Raptor lifted off from the deck, and Evan directed it out of the landing bay.

Once they were out in the open darkness of space, Carrie made her way forward, staring out the canopy in awe. "Ready?" Evan asked as she sat beside him. She nodded, and so he tried to switch main control to the co-pilot's station. However, the controls didn't respond. "We must have crossed a wire," he commented. "I guess that's one thing to add to the post-flight repair list. Come on, switch seats with me." They quickly changed positions. Carrie was a bit hesitant with the controls, but that faded after only a moment. "We've gotta do a checkout of the thrusters," Evan told her. "Start with pitch…" they moved up, then down, "Yaw…" a right turn, then a left, "And then just the reverse jets."

"No roll?" Carrie asked with a teasing smile. Evan laughed.

"Not in a Raptor. We try to avoid those…So, you're finally flying. How's it feel?"

"Kinda like I thought it would, and kinda not…Everything seems very small from out here. Even Galactica." Evan smiled.

"Raptor 265, this is Galactica." a voice came across the wireless. Evan switched his headset back on.

"265 here."

"I have a message from the deck: put on a good show."

Evan smiled. "Copy that. Thanks."

"Who did you spill the beans to?" Carrie asked after he had once again shut Galactica out of the communications loop.

"No one," Evan assured her. "I just sent one of the deckhands up to the observation deck and told him let me know if any VIPs showed up. So I guess your audience is in place; you ready for your flyby?"

Carrie nodded, turning the Raptor back to get in front of Galactica's bow. She'd watched patrols from the observation deck many-a-time as she was growing up, always swearing to herself that someday it would be her out there in a cockpit. She flew towards the ship, manipulating the controls to 'wave' the wings before raising the Raptor's nose and flying up over Galactica. Evan laughed.

"I know I didn't teach you that one," he said. Carrie just grinned.

Evan turned around as he noticed something flickering behind him. One of the screens in the sensor station was on the fritz. "Looks like we crossed more than one wire," he muttered, getting up to check it out.

"So where am I supposed to be going now?" Carrie asked as he left her alone in the cockpit.

"Um…doesn't really matter. Do another pass if you want. Just stay out of the shuttle traffic pattern. And watch out for the CAP." She turned the Raptor back out to fly amid the fleet.

A good smack on the side of the rear Dradis screen got it to stop flickering, but it was no longer registering any contacts either. "Frak. What are you showing on Dradis? I think this thing just went dead." Carrie looked at the screen beside her.

"Um…the Geminon Traveler, Astral Queen, Colonial One, the Vipers and Raptor on CAP…Evan, there's something unidentified." He looked up.

"How close?" Carrie tried to adjust the Dradis screen, but it went dead. At the same time, the rear screen came back on.

"I'm flying blind up here," she called.

"I've got your eyes. Get us back to the landing pod, and no talking." He switched the wireless back to an open loop. "Galactica, Romeo, we've found a Cylon Raider out here."

"Romeo, this is Flare," Livia Keikeya responded from her spot in one of the two Vipers that were on CAP. "We see him, and he brought a few friends along. You need assistance, or can you get back on your own?"

"W – I should be fine. He's not chasing me; I guess you guys are the more interesting targets."

"Lucky us," she shot back.

"Galactica, Romeo; it looks like these guys are just the forward scouts – I'm not picking anything up on radiological."

"Copy that, Romeo." He didn't even realize that he'd made an error with that observation until the other Raptor's ECO commented,

"Hey, how did you route your radiological sensor to the forward platform?" Carrie's eyes widened. The radiological alarm was connected to the rear platform in all Raptors, and normally would only be checked if the craft had two pilots – they'd just given themselves away. "You have an invisible ECO over there?"

"Not exactly…" he replied. They had Galactica's attention by then.

"Romeo, Galactica: are you flying solo?" He sighed. Lying was only going to get them in more trouble, and in any case, there was no longer any way that Carrie was going to be able to sneak off the deck like they'd planned.

"No, Sir," Evan answered. There was a pause.

"Copy that. Please identify your co-pilot."

"She doesn't have a call-sign." They were fast approaching Galactica's landing pod at this point, and since they were already busted, Carrie had no issue with breaking wireless silence. Everyone in the CIC could identify her by voice, so it would take care of the next question that was about to be asked.

"Feel free to come take my seat," she told Evan.

"Don't take your hands off the controls," he replied. "Not this close to the ship."

"You're kidding, right?" But he wasn't.

"You've landed a shuttle; you can land this. Galactica, Raptor 265, on approach," he reported in.

"265, you are cleared for approach. Port bay, checkers green. Call the ball." Evan looked to Carrie.

"Do it," he told her. Trying to push her fear aside, she got lined up for landing, going over everything she'd read and been told in her head.

"I have the ball," she told the LSO. Evan turned off the open loop for the wireless; they didn't need to hear his chatter up in CIC.

"Ease up some more on the throttle," he warned Carrie as they flew inside. "That's it…Use the thrusters to correct. When you're ready, set her down." She made sure everything was where it should be, and then descended to the deck. It was a bit rougher of a landing than normal, but not bad for a first-timer. Evan smiled. "Good job."

"Thanks."

"Now get up."

Carrie laughed. "Gladly." They traded seats, and he maneuvered the Raptor over to the lift. "I wonder how deep we're in it," she thought aloud as they were taken down to the hangar deck.

Evan didn't look up from the controls. "Pretty deep."

* * *

In the hangar, they went through all the shut-down procedures together, but once they were finished, it was time to face the music. Evan opened the hatch, and they both stopped short when they jumped down and realized that along with the CPO, CAG, and a couple marines, Commander Lee Adama was there waiting for them. 

"Somebody start talking, and do it quick," Lee demanded. Evan was standing rigidly at attention.

"It's my fault, Sir," he said automatically. "I wanted to show the Cadet some of the new capabilities we'd added, since she'd finished training."

"Basic training," Lee shot. "How in the hell does that make her qualified to fly a Raptor?"

"No, it was my idea, Dad – Sir," Carrie said, stepping forward. "I…I wanted to do it for Grandpa. I had to talk Evan into helping me; it's not his fault." Lee studied them both for a moment.

"Report to the brig," he finally said. "Both of you."

"Yes, Sir."

* * *

At least he hadn't told the marines to immediately take them into custody. Carrie could count that as a small favor. She and Evan both got out of their flight suits, and then made their way down to the brig. Not a word had been uttered between them since they'd been ordered there, and by the time they were both locked into their cells, Carrie felt like she had to say something. 

"Evan? I'm sorry." There was a long pause, and a sigh.

"I knew what I was doing," he finally said. "I knew what would happen if we got caught."

"But– "

"No buts, Carrie. I knew what the consequences were, and I did it anyway…your grandfather's a good man, and I was just as glad to be able to do this for him as you were. Let's just leave it at that."

There was silence in the room for a good few minutes, but then, "Evan?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you."

"You're welcome, Carrie."

* * *

Lee had some hard decisions to make when it came to what to do with the two of them. Going by the old code of fleet law, Evan's career would be over. However, the old code had been scrapped in the early days after the Holocaust in favor of a far more subjective set of rules and punishments, and that made life a lot more complicated for their commander. Pilots were not a cubit a dozen in the fleet, and good ones like Evan could not be dismissed. He would leave the young man in the brig for a few days, and make sure the CAG keep him real busy around the deck once he'd been released, but Lee would have to return him to a cockpit in the end. 

"So where does that leave Carrie?" Kara asked him as they discussed the situation in Lee's office.

"I've got half a mind to leave her down there, too."

"Have you seen your father since Carrie got back on deck?"

"What?"

"Have you seen him, Lee?"

"No. Why?"

"I…He hasn't looked this much like his old self in a long time."

"Kara – "

"Step back and think about it. Think about all that she did, all she went through in order to orchestrate this. She knew what she was doing, Lee. I only wish that I'd thought things through this well when I was her age." That brought a small smile.

"So do I," he retorted.

"This wasn't just some last minute, hair-brained scheme. She taught herself how to fly a Raptor, and she did it with a lot of planning and forethought."

"So what? I'm supposed to reward her for very thoughtfully planning how to break half the rules in the book? I can't be her father right now, Kara; I've got to be the commanding officer of this ship."

"Fine, then as commanding officer of a Battlestar in a constant combat environment, can you really afford not to take advantage of having a pilot as good and as resourceful as she is in your fleet?"

Lee didn't respond for a long while. "I'm leaving her down there," he finally said. "For now…She's gotta learn to toe the line at some point."

Kara smiled. "Yeah. Or else she might grow up into me."

* * *

Carrie knew her father was angry with her, but she hadn't expected him to lock her up and throw away the key, which is what it had felt like he'd done after three days in the brig. No one had come to visit her – not her parents or brother or friends. Evan was in the same boat. Carrie had been sure that her grandfather would come see her, at least to tell her that he'd seen the flight, but he hadn't. She'd at first thought that Lee was trying to prove a point, but now she as wondering exactly how long he could keep her there. 

Halfway through her third day of captivity, the sound of footsteps approaching got Carrie to look up from the floor. The sight of her father surprised her; she couldn't remember him ever walking around ship in something other than a flight suit or a dress uniform, but here he was in off-duty clothes, and he looked like hell.

"What's going on?" she asked him, and the surprises kept coming when the marine that had accompanied Lee began to unlock the door to Carrie's cell. "You're letting us out?" she inquired. However, the marine didn't move towards Evan's door.

"Come with me," was all Lee finally said.

"Where?"

"The Life Station…Come on."

* * *

TBC... 


	6. Six

Carrie knew better than to ask more questions on the walk from the brig to the Life Station, especially since she wasn't sure that she actually wanted to hear the answers to them. She obediently followed her father through the halls, and up to the ship's sickbay. Her mother and Zak were already inside when they arrived, talking with one of the doctors.

"In there," Lee told his daughter, pointing to one of the curtained off areas. "He wanted to see you."

There were a dozen things swirling around in Carrie's head, but, "H-how bad?" was the only one that made it out of her mouth. She saw her father set his jaw – the fact that he was trying not to cry was scaring her.

"Go," was all he was finally able to choke out. And she did, turning around and carefully pulling back the curtain that surrounded her grandfather's bed. She was acutely aware of the sound of her heart pounding in her ears, and the sight of him was more than she was ready for. He had multiple IVs and an oxygen line snaked from behind his ears to under his nose in order to help him breathe. His skin was pale, and he looked exhausted. The man on the bed wasn't the one she knew.

"Ah, there you are," Adama said, his voice low and raspy, when he saw her. He reached a hand towards his granddaughter, and Carrie took it. "So you think you're a pilot now, hmm?"

"Did you see it?"

"Of course I did. You gave me an order, didn't you?" She nodded, willing her eyes not to spill. "I didn't realize it wasn't Evan until you 'waved'."

"He took it off the deck…The past few days have given me some time to think. I guess my landing proved why actually going through flight training is a good idea."

"Indeed it is...However, your father told me that I could give you these on his behalf." Reaching for the little table beside his bed, he picked up a bit of metal and handed it to her. Carrie just stared at what she was holding – Raptor wings. "Congratulations, Lieutenant. Just don't expect to get promoted from Junior Grade anytime soon."

"I won't…Dad's really going to let me fly?"

Adama nodded. "I guess you got your own wish in the process of giving me mine."

The lump in her throat was making it increasingly difficult to talk. "I'll take you with me on my first real flight, okay?" she said, voice barely more than a whisper. "You wouldn't want to miss that, would you, Grandpa?"

"You can take me with you anytime that you want," he told her, putting a hand over her heart. "I'll be right in there." She wrapped her fingers around his.

"What are we supposed to do without you?"

"Live your life. I'll still be with you."

"It won't be the same."

"Nothing ever stays the same; it's not supposed to. So I want to hear all kinds of stories when I see you again, understood?"

"Yes, Sir." A tiny smile appeared on her face. "I can fly now. I'll go away to Foreverland."

Adama smiled back, eyes closed. "Good. I'll be waiting for you."

* * *

"We are charged with the solemn duty of returning the body of one of our own to the universe, from which the Lords of Kobol brought him to us." 

Carrie stood rigidly at attention as the priest led the service, her mother on her left and her father on her right. Zak was on Lee's right, and sneaking a glance at her brother told her how much he'd grown up in the past few days. His playful smile and mischievous personality had vanished. Carrie could only hope it wasn't permanent; that was the last thing her grandfather would have wanted.

The feeling of Kara taking her hand almost made her jump. Carrie's fingers squeezed her mother's partially in response, and partially to make sure that the appendage was still working. She'd never felt so numb in her life.

"Admiral William Adama had a long, good life in service of his people," the priest continued. "We honor him for that, and we lift his body up to you, Lords, so that you make take from him his burdens and give him life eternal. We also ask that you give us courage and hope so that we can make our way through the days ahead, and keep faith that we will be reunited in the better world to come. So say we all."

"So say we all."

No one had imagined how many people would come to Galactica for the service. Hangar Bay B was full to capacity, and more people had spilled out into the halls, listening to the overhead like those that were stuck on-duty. After taking a deep breath, Lee stepped forward, turning to face them all and take the sight of them in. Many of 'Galactica's children' had returned to the ship from other places in the fleet, including Hope Tyrol, who stood with her parents and brothers. So many people whose lives had been changed – saved – by one man. There'd been a time when all Lee wanted was to get away from his father's legacy. Now he just hoped that he could live up to it.

"Dismissed," he finally announced to the crowd. Some people began making their way towards the exits, while others tried to push forward in order to offer the Adamas their condolences.

"Have you eaten?" Zak quietly asked his sister as they stepped away from their parents.

"I'm not hungry."

"Why don't you come down to the mess with me, Carrie?" He started to put a hand on her shoulder, but she very quickly pulled back.

" Zak, I-I…I really don't want to do this right now. I can't."

"Where are you going?" he asked as she turned away.

"To be alone." And he let her go.

"Zak?" Hope, Evan, Boxey, and a bunch of his other friends that had grown up on Galactica were approaching him. "None of us are on shift," Livia Keikeya told him. "You want to go sit and talk for a while?"

"Yeah…Yeah, that sounds good."

* * *

Kara had watched both of her children leave. She knew they would work things out; they had each other and their friends. She was more concerned about her husband. 

"You've got that look in your eye," she whispered to him.

"What look?"

"The one that says it's time to leave before that wall you've put up cracks. I know you, Lee; come on." They exchanged a few more words with other officers and officials, and then made their way out the door. Kara turned to go back to their quarters, but realized that her husband wasn't following her. "What are you doing?"

"I've got a lot of work – "

"For frak's sake, Lee, it's doesn't need to get done today!" He didn't answer. She pulled him around the corner to a less trafficked section of hallway; the last thing the crew needed was to see its top two officers having a fight in the middle of the corridor. "It's his ship, Lee," she started again, voice quieter. "No one is going to let it fall apart in a day – especially not this day." There was still nothing but silence. "You don't have to be the strong one with me." He sighed.

"I'm fine, Kara."

"You're either lying, or you're made of stone. Lee, we're all hurting, okay? Every person in the fleet. Until you let go, all you're doing is forcing yourself to be alone…Please, just grieve with the rest of us. Grieve with me." His face remained a mask, and Kara was about to turn away and let him go be a stubborn workaholic in his office. She was surprised when he suddenly pulled her into his arms, body shaking with quiet sobs. Kara held onto him to ride out the flood she'd provoked, and sent a silent prayer to the Gods that they would be given strength.

* * *

Carrie hated the dress uniform that had been found at the last minute for her; the jacket was at least two sizes too big, and she would have headed back to her bunk to get out of the thing, but didn't feel it would be respectful to do so yet. She instead started wandering aimlessly around Galactica's halls, her fingers occasionally running over the Raptor wings that were pinned to the sash or the Lieutenant's insignia on her collar. It was still beyond her comprehension why her father had made her a Lieutenant. That fact that it was Junior Grade didn't matter; she was sixteen, for frak's sake. And hadn't even finished training – hell, she hadn't actually started formal training. The tasks that were before her seemed overwhelming and all she really wanted was to curl up with her grandfather with a good book and shut out the world. But that wasn't an option, not anymore. 

Almost unconsciously, her feet carried her down towards Adama's quarters, and she had to stop herself from knocking on the hatch before opening it. The room looked exactly the same as the last time she'd been there; Lee hadn't been able to bring himself to cleaning it out yet. Carrie was envious of the faces in the photographs on his desk; they were frozen in time forever, just like she now wanted to be. Dreams of growing up were forgotten – she'd give anything to go back a month in time.

As she looked around, she noticed that 'Foreverland' was sitting on the bed along with a little box. She reached for the box first, and opened it to find two sets of dog tags.

The first was older and worn, but 'William Adama' could clearly be made out. Carrie carefully fingered them for a moment before moving on. The other set was new, engraved with the name 'Caroline Payton Adama.' She hadn't been a fan of her middle name when she was younger; it had sounded like a boy's name, and Carrie had definitely been a little princess as a child. Her name would have been William if she'd been a boy, and her parents had wanted to give her something from her grandfather, just like Zak had. Kara had finally found Payton – it had the same meaning – and Carrie had learned to like it with time. She put her tags around her neck and tucked them inside the collar of her uniform jacket before picking up the book that was beside her and opening it. Her tears finally spilled when she saw the note on the inside cover:

CAROLINE – 

ONLY IN THE DARKNESS DO THE STARS APPEAR. BE SAFE ON YOUR JOURNEY TO THEM. GET AS OLD AS YOU LIKE BUT TRY NOT TO GROW UP IF AT ALL POSSIBLE. GATHER STRENGTH FROM THOSE AROUND YOU AND DON'T EVER BE AFRAID TO DREAM. LISTEN TO YOUR HEART, AND YOU'LL NEVER TRULY LOSE THOSE THAT YOU LOVE. 

Carrie turned to the last page that she remembered reading, curled up on the bed, and started trying to finish the book. She didn't feel quite so alone anymore.

* * *

As much as the Adama family would have liked the world to stop, it didn't. The next morning, Lee and Kara were back in the CIC, Zak was back in a Viper, and Carrie was starting Raptor flight training. Even though it was all she'd wanted for months, it took some effort to concentrate during the morning briefing – her mind was in a million places at once. 

"You four have got the Vipers that are out on deck," the instructor told the four pilot-hopefuls that were in the front row of the ready room. "Burst and Carrot Top, you've got Raptor 368. Lucky and…Adama, has anybody given you a call sign?"

Carrie shook her head. "No, Sir."

"Well, you've got one now; a little suggestion I received. From now on, you're Starfox, understood?"

"Yes, Sir."

"All right. In that case, Lucky and Starfox, you've got Raptor 206. Everybody better be out on the course in fifteen minutes or I'm coming to find you, and trust me when I say that you don't want me to have to come after you. Dismissed." They all got up and headed out onto the deck. Carrie ran into her new ECO on the way.

"Lucky, huh?" she asked. "Do I want to know where that came from?"

"Do I want to know who came up with yours?" he countered.

"It's a family thing…" she finally said.

"Okay, I can handle that. You ready to go?"

"Lemme do a pre-flight first."

He frowned. "The deckhands already did it."

"If I fly it, I check it. My mom engrained that in my head early."

"All right, fine." He helped her finish the check, and they both got the Raptor set to go.

As it was moved on the lift up to the flight deck, Carrie pulled something out of a pocket in her flight suit and put it on the co-pilot's chair, since Lucky was in the back at the sensor station. It was her copy of 'Foreverland', with Adama's dog tags being used as a bookmark to designate a page with one of Carrie's favorite quotes:

TO LIVE WOULD BE AN AWFULLY BIG ADVENTURE.

* * *

Fin. 

Thanks to everyone who's been reading since the very first chapter. Hope you enjoyed.


End file.
